Davis Hospital and Medical Center Offering New Skin Graft System

Press Release

July 29, 2013

Layton – Davis Hospital and Medical Center’s Hyperbaric and Wound Center is the first center in the western United States to provide the CelluTome Epidermal Harvesting System for skin grafting. Unlike traditional split-thickness skin grafting that requires the use of a much larger area of skin from the donor site, CelluTome technology offers a precise, simplified and minimally invasive option for wound closure.

“The results from the CelluTome system are remarkable, and we’re proud to be the first in Utah to offer such an innovative and beneficial treatment option for wound care,” said Paul Barney of Davis Hospital and Medical Center’s Hyperbaric and Wound Center. “The technology is very advanced, yet the process is simplified for the specialists and the patients. Our patients’ successful recoveries are an inspiration to us all.”

The CelluTome system uses a template lined with small holes. The tool warms up the skin and creates suction, adhering to a patient’s inner thigh. The heat and suction causes small blisters to form at the junction of the epidermis and dermis, which is then lifted from the donor site without injuring blood vessels and nerves. The harvested skin tissue is placed on the wound and, as soon as the new skin roots to the damaged skin, the healing process begins. In traditional skin grafting, the wound is treated in an operating room and healing on the harvest sites is often painful. With CelluTome, the entire procedure is performed without anesthesia in a medical clinic. The harvesting site generally heals within one to two weeks and the transplant site closes 40 to 60 percent faster than untreated wounds.